Education: B.S., Biology, Fairleigh Dickinson University; Ph.D., Cell biology, State University of New York at Buffalo; postdoctoral studies in cell and developmental biology, Duke University

Family: Wife, Mary Anne; two daughters

John Chapman

Age: 50

Residence: Chatham

Occupation: Attorney

Education: B.A., political science, Kenyon College; J.D., Suffolk University Law School

Family: Wife, Diana; one son

Vincent Cogliano Jr.

Age: 69

Residence: Pembroke

Occupation: Businessman

Education: B.S., business, Bloomfield College

Family: Two daughters; three granddaughters

Daniel Shores

Age: 42

Residence: Sandwich

Occupation: Attorney

Education: B.S., mechanical engineering, University of New Hampshire; J.D., Georgetown University Law Center

Family: Single; 12 nieces and nephews

» Social News

Four candidates are vying in the Republican primary to be nominated as the challenger to Democratic U.S. Rep. William Keating in the 9th Congressional District.

Stonehill College political science professor Peter Ubertaccio said the district is seen by many Republicans as one of the most fertile congressional districts in Massachusetts for them to pick up, if not this year then in the future.

Ubertaccio and longtime New Bedford political observer Peter Barney both said it seems like the contest is a two-man race between John Chapman, seen as the establishment candidate, and Mark Alliegro, a Tea Party insurgent.

Barney said he has taken note of the fact that Chapman has advertised, on radio and television.

"Chapman is a bit more polished, and I've heard people like Alliegro; he's a little less polished," said Barney, adding that that was no slight. Passionate candidates can often drive up excitement from voters, he said.

All four candidates spoke with The Standard-Times about their backgrounds, their priorities and their plans if they're elected.

Mark Alliegro, a Falmouth resident and cell biologist, said he is duty-bound to go to Washington and work on behalf of the next generation. He said that's why he's running.

"The short version is, the great country that my parents handed down to me, it's my every intention to make sure that gets handed down to my children and grandchildren," said Alliegro. "I'm not going to stand by and watch these people — our president and his acolytes in Congress — fundamentally change us."

"There are many specific changes, but here's the issue in general: trading our freedoms for momentary expedience," he said, citing the Affordable Care Act as a prime example. "Now there's just another layer or two of bureaucracy between you and your physician, and you pay more for insurance. It's more money out of your pocket and less economic freedom."

Alliegro, who has racked up endorsements from conservative state representatives including Geoff Diehl of Whitman and Shaunna O'Connell of Taunton, said President Barack Obama's administration has "no national security policy," and that that includes members of Congress who support "this inept administration."

Alliegro said he takes national security "very seriously," and added that "our friends overseas can't trust us anymore, like Israel, and our enemies don't fear us anymore."

On climate change "My objective opinion is that it's a sham," he said. "There's no such thing as settled science ... (long ago) the settled science was that the earth was flat. The planet has been warming for 18,000 to 20,000 years, and there's no direct evidence that man is influencing climate change."

So what will he do in Congress?

"On those issues, what I can do is be a vocal advocate for common sense," said Alliegro.

John Chapman, a lawyer who lives in Chatham, said working for Ronald Reagan as a White House aide was "an absolute thrill."

Working in government, for the federal Securities and Exchange Commission, and later as commissioner of the state's Department of Industrial Accidents under Gov. Mitt Romney.

It's "broad experience" in government, the financial services sector as an attorney for financial firms, and in the nonprofit sphere as general counsel for the Joslin Diabetes Center, his most recent post.

He cited his brother's work as a commercial fisherman for more than 20 years as part of his particular interest in the SouthCoast.

"I think the people in Washington should spend a week on a fishing trawler or in a fishing community," so they'll see the effect their regulations have, Chapman said, adding that he'd request a seat on the House's Natural Resources Committee to advocate for the industry.

He said his familiarity with healthcare has made him an opponent of the Affordable Care Act, too, which he thinks should be repealed, citing that it hurts job growth because of costs.

Chapman has been endorsed by the mainstream of the state Republican party, Romney and former U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, as well as former U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan, former state Sen. Dan Winslow and former Senate candidate Gabriel Gomez. He said he's running to be a better advocate than Keating, and that his varied experience makes him the ideal Republican to face off against the incumbent.

For Vincent Cogliano Jr., it's the economy that motivated the former Pembroke selectman and longtime businessman to throw his hat into the race.

He currently operates an auto financing company that's the fourth business he's started, in addition to living on his family's farm in Pembroke that deals mostly in Christmas trees.

"The reason I'm running is, I don't think Republicans or Democrats in Washington are doing enough to help small businesses and their employees, who are most of the people in America," said Cogliano. "To me, having a good economy is having people employed. Right now there are over 11 million Americans who want to work."

He said austerity measures in Europe and bailouts of big business in the United States have both failed largely for the same reason: it's too much government involvement.

"There are too many rules and regulations, too many things holding back business from growing and from hiring people."

He said the "too big to fail" model has created a "too small to succeed" conundrum.

What are his goals in Congress? All three of them involve reform: tax reform, energy reform and what Cogliano called a reform on rules and regulations.

The tax code's loopholes should all be closed, and there should be a fair or flat tax implemented instead, he said. On energy reform, "in 20 years all the windmills will be scrap metal," Cogliano said. It's solar power, he said, that will be the best form of alternative energy mainly because of its efficiency.

And in terms of regulations, the Affordable Care Act should be scrapped, he said, and the Dodd-Frank banking bill repealed so that smaller banks can be more successful.

Daniel Shores of Sandwich, a practicing lawyer, says he gained a solid work ethic growing up in the district.

Raised in Carver, he worked with his father as a logger before putting himself through college and law school.

"That's part of my American dream: going from logger to successful lawyer," Shores said. "I'm running for Congress to make sure that the American dream is alive and well for future generations. I think that's in serious jeopardy right now on a number of levels."

Keating is a "career politician" who has "failed miserably," said Shores.

"We have a leadership problem," he said. "As the congressman, I'll work to pull back regulations and simplify the tax code, so we can let the people live free and generate prosperity."

Besides that, he said his status as an outsider is a benefit.

"I'm the only credible political outsider in this race," he said. "I'm not a politician, I've never held public office, and I've never run for public office; each of the other candidates have worked in government or had some public office in one way or another, or been involved in some kind of political establishment. I am not. I am the only real outsider in this race and I think that's what we need. We need someone who can take a fresh look and solve problems."